


Adam Parrish and the Scientific Method

by poorchoices



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Developing Relationship, Hand Jobs, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Masturbation, Oral Sex, Personal identity, Pornography, Sexuality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-12
Updated: 2016-07-24
Packaged: 2018-06-08 00:15:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6831100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poorchoices/pseuds/poorchoices
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adam explores his budding sexuality. Post-TRK.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. STEP ONE: Ask a Question

Since his younger days, Adam Parrish has always been an innately logical creature. Decide what you want, determine the best way to obtain that desire, act upon the plan. It’s a mantra that has gotten him far in life. He works hard because he needs to. He needs to, so that he can secure his future. Emotional concerns are secondary to the base drive of want/get/have.

Approaching every question as logically as possible is the best way to achieve results.

 

**STEP ONE: Ask a Question**

“When did you realize?”

“Realize what?”

“That you, yknow,” Blue shifts in the booth, uncharacteristic awkwardness in the set of her shoulders. “Were sexually interested in guys.”

Adam blinks at that, torn between amusement that she’d pushed through the awkwardness in the same blunt way she does everything else and horror at the idea of discussing this with her. “I… didn’t.”

Blue’s eyebrows raise to her hairline. “So you’re not sexually interested?” Concern flashes across her face and she leans forward, her voice a harsh whisper. “Does _Ronan_ know this?”

“Jesus, Blue!” He glances around, but Gansey is still standing outside on his cell phone and Ronan and Henry are nowhere to be seen.

“It’s perfect fine if you’re asexual, Adam. I mean, obviously, it’s not like you need me to validate your sexual preference or anything, but you should probably tell your boyfriend that you’re not going to have sex with him.”

“I’m not asexual,” He insists, wishing he weren’t so keenly aware of just how pink his cheeks had turned. “I’m plenty… sexual. I just hadn’t really thought about whether or not I’m sexually interested in men, I guess.”

“But you’re sexually interested in women?” Adam just stares at her and Blue shrugs off his silence by continuing on like a bulldozer through his limits of appropriate discussion. “When we were going out did you think about having sex with me?”

“Blue!”

She rolls her eyes. “I mean, I’m just wondering where the certainty comes from, yknow? It’s not like I don’t appreciate attractive girls. But it’s not an appreciation that runs sexually. At least, I don’t think so. How did you know your feelings for Ronan were more than just… your feelings for Gansey?”

He wants to answer her, he really does, but Adam’s brain is swimming in a mess of Blue appreciating attractive girls and Ronan appreciating _him_ and now there’s a really confusing memory of watching Gansey take off his shirt once and-

“You guys make out, right?”

“What? Why are we talking about this?” He barely pauses, feeling a strange need to defend his relationship “Of course we make out!”

Infuriatingly, Blue just nods. “So you make out, but things haven’t progressed from there? I thought guys were supposed to be total horndogs.”

“We are!” The exclamation is a reflex and Blue just laughs at him, bright and happy and for a moment Adam is immensely thankful to have her as a friend.

Then she opens her mouth again and he wants to take that thought right back.

“So when you’re making out, do you, like… pop a boner?”

Adam makes a scandalized noise, looking around again to see if anyone is going to join them at the booth and end this torture.

“I’m not asking you to describe his dick or anything,” Blue promises, seemingly oblivious to the rapidly ceasing brain function Adam is experiencing. “I guess I just wonder if you can be emotionally into someone without being physically into them? I know the opposite is true, but-”

“I’m physically into Ronan!”

Blue’s eyebrows shoot up again but she nods sagely. “I thought that’s the way it would go, actually. Henry thinks Ronan is topping, but he doesn’t know you guys as well as I do.”

Adam flees the table.

*

The thing is, Adam is _happy_ with Ronan.

He’s had relationships before, however ill-advised they had been. A three week roller coaster fling with a girl from the trailer park. Some furtive groping in the janitor’s closet before he switched schools to Aglionby. The near-painful longing in his chest whenever he looked at Blue’s smile.

It’s different with Ronan.

They spend a lot of time together, which isn’t any different than before.

They often spend that time kissing, which is.

And while he’d never talk about it to Blue, more often than not when he and Ronan part ways at the end of the night, Adam’s hard in his jeans and wishing for relief.

He’s just never really given any thought to if it’s because he wants Ronan, or if it’s his body’s natural reaction to the kissing.

The thought makes him scowl.

He and Ronan are so much more than that. They're more than base reactions. What he feels for Ronan is deeper than some virtually faceless grope.

So why haven't they gone any further?

Adam Parrish, eminently logical in how he approaches problems, has some research to do.


	2. STEP TWO: Do Background Research

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the great support for chapter one! I hope you like chapter 2 as much. Any feedback is super appreciated!

When looking into a situation, Adam Parrish is nothing if not thorough. When he decided to go to Aglionby it was based on copious amounts of research into the college acceptance statistics, tuition costs, scholarship amounts. He made sure the pros would outweigh the cons before making his decision.

That decision changed his entire life.

 

**STEP TWO: Do Background Research**

The first thing Adam does is get Ronan alone.

It's not difficult to accomplish. 

They finish at Nino’s, bid the others farewell, and Adam climbs into the passenger seat of the BMW without a word. It's hardly a new occurrence, even before things changed between them, but the slight smile on Ronan's lips as he starts the car and asks “Where to?” is never going to get old.

“St Agnes,” Adam answers. He wants things on his terms and he works early in the morning. While he's been spending nights at The Barns frequently, it's not practical all the time.

Ronan only grunts acknowledgement, and Adam knows he's thinking about Opal, back home, and how he can't stay out late.

They reach the church, and Ronan silently follows Adam upstairs. Normally, they'd settle in to comfortably study  (Adam) and play on the phone (Ronan). Tonight, Adam has other plans.

When the door closes, Adam turns and lightly pushes Ronan up against it. He barely has time to register the other boy’s slight surprise before he's pressing up against him and claiming his mouth in a kiss.

Ronan recovers quickly, sinking down a bit on the door to give Adam leverage and settling his hands on Adam's ribs. Their kiss is wet and a little sloppy but the way Ronan groans against his mouth shoots through Adam's entire body.

He presses closer, his own hands resting on the back of Ronan's neck as he presses his tongue against Ronan's. 

They've done this before, of course, but Adam's never been this in charge… this  _ intent _ .

He fits his thigh between Ronan's legs and presses up. Ronan's sharp exhale is muffled by Adam's relentless kiss and he feels a swell of pride as the other boy presses down against him.

Adam's no idiot, he knows the human body, but there's a moment of lust-addled confusion when he feels the hard press of Ronan's erection on his thigh.

_ I did that, _ he thinks.  _ He's hard for me. _

It's enough to make him groan back, pushing his thigh higher to give Ronan more friction.

Ronan's hands leave his waist, sliding around to rest on the top of Adam's ass and it makes him shiver unexpectedly. He uses the new leverage to pull Adam closer and slot his own thigh between his legs. 

It's different, then, Adam no longer the aggressor now being actively engaged in the activity. The press of Ronan’s leg against his jean-covered groin is  an explosion of friction, and in just seconds Adam is harder than he’s ever been. He groans,, their kiss having evolved into panting into each other’s mouth more than anything else.

Adam knows it’s shameless, knows they’re grinding together in a messy tangle against the door of his apartment (his  _ church _ apartment, no less!) but those thoughts slip away with every push and pull. The friction is incredible, so different from his own hand and there’s a surge of power that comes from knowing Ronan is falling apart just as much as he is.

The hand on his ass tightens and Adam pulls his mouth away, nosing against Ronan’s throat and letting out another groan. The pressure feels beyond good,and he slides his hands down from Ronan’s neck, skating over his chest and stomach until his fingers tease the edge of the other boy’s jeans.

“Parrish,” Roan groans, pulling him closer but Adam doesn’t respond. Instead, he slides his thigh away from where Ronan’s grinding down onto it just enough to get his hand past the waistband of jeans he vaguely thinks might be more expensive than his entire wardrobe put together. 

He files away Ronan’s sharp intake of breath for later contemplation and with a single-minded intent that supersedes even the pressure in his own groin, Adam deftly works his hand under the waistband of Ronan’s boxers and wraps his fingers around his dick.

It’s hard and it’s hot and Ronan gives up all pretense of working Adam and lightly bangs his head back against the door.

“Christ, Adam.”

He grins into Ronan’s neck, gently nipping with his teeth before starting to work his hand along the shaft.

It’s awkward, with Ronan’s jeans still done up and Adam’s hand too dry to get a good rhythm, but Ronan’s gasps and stuttered breaths prove he’s not about to complain. Adam may not be actively pressing his own cock against him anymore, but there’s a thrill shooting down to his toes at the way Ronan is letting go.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” A stream of cursing is all the words he can find.

It’s different than jerking himself off, but he loves the feeling of power that’s surging through him each time Ronan whimpers and pushes his hips more into his hand. He can’t tell much about the size of Ronan’s cock, not while mouthing at his throat, but the feel of it against his hand is heavy.

“Fuck. Fuck, I’m-”

It’s all the warning he gets before Ronan’s entire body is tensing. The entire room seems to still for an impossibly long moment as neither of them breathe, then Adam feels the telltale warmth and wetness as Ronan shudders through his orgasm. He keeps stroking awkwardly, feeling each pulse of  _ life _ and  _ feeling _ and  _ Ronan _ until the groans turn a little pained and the other boy is shifting his oversensitive cock away from Adam’s hand.

Adam extracts his hand, carefully wiping cum on the hem of his own shirt before bringing his arms around Ronan’s waist in what, for all intents and purposes, is a chastely sweet hug.

There’s no sound other than their breathing, but Adam feels Ronan’s hands settle on his back as the other boy returns the hug.

The urgency is gone, and Adam’s erection has flagged, but he’s smiling into the skin at Ronan’s throat, secure in the knowledge that it’s been a successful information gathering session.

Fact: Ronan Lynch is attractive.

Fact: He just got Ronan Lynch off with a cramped handjob.

Fact: Adam doesn’t think he’ll ever forget the way it felt when Ronan came, knowing he was the one who’d caused it.

It’s a lot to consider.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up Next: Construct a Hypothesis


	3. STEP THREE: Construct a Hypothesis

Adam Parrish has never been the type to let things go. He likes to contemplate, to follow every thread to it’s end before determining a course of action. Impulses motivate him, but they do not drive him, they never have. He wants to dissect and understand and really get inside of a problem.

Bodies aren’t all that different from cars.

 

**STEP THREE: Construct a Hypothesis**

Ronan leaves shortly after, and while they don’t actually discuss the handjob situation, Adam smiles at him as he kisses him goodbye. There’s a moment of hesitation, an unasked question but Ronan seems to decide against it.

Adam listens to the BMW drive away before stripping off his clothes and lying on the bed. It doesn’t take much to perk his erection back up, just the memory of Ronan’s sounds in his ears and his cock against his hand and Adam is stroking himself quickly, wondering what it would be like if the hand weren’t his own.

He wishes he’d gotten Ronan’s jeans undone, wishes he slid them down enough to really work his hand along Ronan’s shaft, the way he currently works his own. Would Ronan like it when he ran his thumb along the slit? Would Ronan prefer long leisurely strokes or quick tugs?

Adam knows Ronan liked him for a long time, had he thought about him when he jerked off?

He imagines that, Ronan in the shower at Monmouth, water cascading over the tattoo on his back as he works his cock under the spray. Adam’s never had the luxury of getting off in the shower, has never been able to be that wasteful, but he knows that wouldn’t concern Ronan. What’s a water bill when given the warmth and steam of a shower, the sound of water muffling his moans?

More than that, Adam knows that bed isn’t a sanctuary for Ronan the way it is for him. Too many memories, too many horrors. No, he can imagine that Ronan does most of his self-pleasuring elsewhere. The shower, most likely… maybe the car, sometimes? The imagine of Ronan leaning back in the driver's seat of the BMW and unbuckling his belt makes Adam’s breath catch.

He wishes he’d looked at Ronan’s cock.

From a purely scientific standpoint, he wants more than a vague idea of it’s size. Does it curve? How dense are the coarse curls he felt brushing his knuckles? Adam releases his own cock and slides his hand down to fondle his balls. Would Ronan like it if he did that? Adam’s balls are sensitive, but he’s never given much thought to if that’s an anomaly or not.

He wants to learn the differences between Ronan and himself.

With a sigh, Adam remembers the press of Ronan’s thigh between his legs, the way the friction had mounted differently than he was used to. He rolls to his stomach, pressing his cock against his hand and down onto the hard mattress. It’s not the same as Ronan’s legs, but the change shoots pleasure up his spine.

He ruts lazily against the bed for a few moments before the cramped position of his hand and and effort of forcing his hips down starts to chip away at the throb of pleasure.

Ever the problem solver, Adam props himself up on his elbows and looks speculatively around his small apartment. After a moment he grabs a towel from the floor and rolls it up before sliding that between his legs instead. He adds a pillow underneath and then it’s perfect. Now gravity helps press him into the bed, and the towel is just rough enough against his over-sensitive cock to mimic the frantic grinding from earlier. Sliding his hands underneath the entire setup, Adam rocks his erection against the bundle of fabric and closes his eyes.

He imagines Ronan.

Ronan’s leg between his own, pressing up as Adam presses down. Grinding against him as the pressure builds and builds and everything pinpoints at the friction they’re creating.

Somewhere in the back of his mind Adam knows he’s humping his bed to thoughts of his boyfriend; knows he’s making no attempt to muffle the noises it’s drawing out of him. He knows he’s face down with his bare ass in the air trying desperately to reach the orgasm he’s chasing.

He imagines Ronan in the same position.

The pale line of his back, the stark blacks of his tattoo. Most vividly of all, the backs of his thighs, lightly hairy and topped by an ass Adam immediately knows his subconscious has lovingly crafted from a copious amount of admiring through Ronan’s jeans. Round but firm and unquestionably masculine, rising into the air with each frenzied thrust against the bundle of towel below and-

Adam cums with a long groan, spurting all over his towel and riding out the aftershocks as he humps his bed. When it’s finally too much he just lays there, face down.

Envisioning Ronan’s naked ass knocked Adam into the most intense orgasm of his life.

He hadn’t seen that coming.

He laughs weakly at his own stupid innuendo before finally mustering the strength to sit up and clean up the mess. The soiled towel joins his shirt on the ground and he vaguely chastises himself for not just using that instead, as it already had Ronan’s cum all over it… An insistent stab of desire pulses through him at that thought and Adam firmly tamps it down. He has studying to do, he can’t just furiously masturbate all night.

Calculus has never been this difficult to focus on.

*

By the next morning, Adam has come to a conclusion: He wants to have sex with Ronan.

He just isn’t sure what that entails.

He knows the basics, has a primitive understanding of the sex acts two men perform with each other but it hasn’t ever been the focus of his (relatively sparse) fantasy life. He knows he wants his dick sucked, he’s pretty sure he can figure out how to suck Ronan’s in exchange… but what else? Now that the question of his and Ronan’s sexual relationship is out there, he finds himself eager to do more research into the things they can do to each other.

Just the thought makes him hard enough that he has to stroke one out before school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The overwhelming feedback on chapter two was a huge motivator for getting this one up so quickly. Not that I say so as a hint...
> 
> Up next: Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment


	4. STEP FOUR: Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment

When Adam was researching schools, he spoke with Aglionby faculty. He looked at college acceptance rates, he read course outlines, he emailed alumni. Would this be worth the effort? Would it be worth the risk?

One day, when his public school had a half day, Adam attended an open house. The only teenager there without parents, he was allowed to watch classes and speak to other students. While everyone else’s questions were about the dormitories and the extracurriculars, Adam asked about average SAT scores and letters of reference.

Primary sources make the best research tools.

 

**STEP FOUR: Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment**

Adam has a busy week.

Between work and school, he barely gets to see Ronan. It’s not unheard of, especially now that Ronan’s officially dropped out, but with Adam’s newfound interest in furthering their physical relationship he’s spending more time with his right hand than he ever has before.

It’s Friday when he finally gets a reprieve. The factory cancels his shift due to equipment needing to be repaired and he doesn’t need to be anywhere until after lunch on Saturday. 

He may not reach Ronan’s speeds on the road, but he drives to The Barns faster than he’s ever attempted before.

The BMW isn’t there.

After a cursory search of the house, Adam use the landline to call Ronan’s phone. It takes a few rounds of hanging up on his voicemail before he answers and when Ronan tells him he and Opal are in DC having dinner with Matthew, Adam can hear the disappointment in his voice. He promises they’ll be back in three hours, four at the most, and while Ronan never actually begs him to stay around, Adam makes a point to say he will.

Taking his barely functional dinosaur of a refurbished laptop out of his bag, Adam sets himself up in the living room to work on his history paper.

Within five minutes he comes to two realizations.

One: He’s alone

Two: He knows the wifi password

Adam has never had much time or opportunity to look at porn. He isn’t about to look for it on Aglionby’s wireless network and it’s not like he gets cable or wastes money on dirty magazines. Maybe if he had, he would’ve realized sooner that it wasn’t just girls who drew those particular attentions from him?

Carefully, Adam relocates himself to he can see out the window to the driveway, angling his laptop so the screen isn’t visible should anyone come unexpectedly in the door. He pulls up PornHub, because even the wealthy boys he goes to school with talk about where the free porn is.

He’s met with an assault of thumbnails showing women in a variety of sexual acts.

He looks for a moment, appreciating the familiar tingle the large breasts give him before determinedly clicking the link at the top that promises the all-gay content. The thumbnails change, then, and Adam’s pleasantly surprised to realize the tingling in his groin intensifies in anticipation. Carefully, he scrolls through the categories, googling terms he’s unfamiliar with.

Some things he knows he doesn’t want to watch. Solo male holds no interest, he knows how to masturbate and he isn’t particularly interested in group or fetish activities. After a few moments of contemplation, he decides the category labelled “college” is the best place to be.

For a long moment, Adam stares at the indistinct bodies making up the thumbnails, paralyzed with indecision on what to click. He doesn’t know what he likes, he’s never had the opportunity to find out!

He filters for the top rated videos of all time, figuring the best bet is to start with what’s popular and move on from there.

Over the next hour, watching a few minutes of dozens of videos, Adam learns several things:

-The writing in pornography is atrocious. Adam’s never been great at creative writing exercises but he’s fairly certain he could write dialogue that’s more believable than what he witnesses.

-The acting is worse.

-Gay porn stars either have entirely too much body hair or none at all.

-He likes when there’s a lot of kissing.

Adam finally settles on a clip of two guys in a bedroom. It’s quiet, with no out of place background music or overacted plot and just a couple who seem to be legitimately into each other.  They slowly undress as they trade kisses and touches and Adam finds himself watching intently.

He’s hard, but it isn’t urgent, it’s just a pleasant sort of ache in his groin and when the two guys in the video are finally naked, Adam mentally takes notes of the things they do to each other.

The basics are familiar: stroking their own cocks, stroking their partner’s. The blowjob comes next, and while the video angle isn’t exactly for instructional purposes, Adam’s happy to realize it looks about as basic as he’d assumed. Tongues and lips and liberal application of a hand between sucks.

Beyond the realization that he could easily do this, though, is the unquestionable truth that he  _ wants _ to.

Adam wants to suck Ronan’s dick, he wants to bring him that level of pleasure.

The couple on the clip move on, and there’s fingers and tongue being applied to each of their asses. Adam’s never tried touching himself in that way, he isn’t sure he’s ready to explore quite that far, but he can’t stop thinking about Ronan. Would he let Adam finger his asshole? Would he let Adam work him open until he’s begging for his cock? Would he let Adam fuck him?

Anal sex isn’t something he’d given much thought to, but as the couple on the video shift to their knees, Adam finds himself watching the guy on the bottom. He’s stroking his own cock as his partner fucks his ass, and it’s clear they’re both enjoying it. They shift positions several times, stopping to kiss and by the time the twenty minute clip is over, Adam’s pleased to have a reference point for what sex between two men looks like.

Not the overly polished coupling of professionally produced porn, but the genuine fondness and care he sees in videos of real couples.

He watches more in that vein, real guys having real sex, and by the time he hears the BMW coming up the driveway he’s horny and eager to get Ronan alone.

Adam closes his laptop but stays on the couch, unable to help his smile when Ronan appears at the door, carrying a sleeping Opal in his arms. He mouths a silent hello before carrying her upstairs to the room she’s claimed as her own and joining Adam on the couch as soon as she’s put to bed.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

Adam leans forward, claiming Ronan’s mouth in a long, deep kiss. It’s not frenzied like it had been in his apartment, he doesn’t feel a desperate need to get things moving and make sure they progress. He just enjoys the feeling of Ronan’s tongue against his own, of Ronan’s hands sliding under his shirt, of Ronan’s weight settling over him on the couch.

They kiss for what feels like forever until Ronan suddenly sits up.

“Parrish,” He’s a little breathless, straddling Adam’s knees and Adam pushes up onto his elbows to look at him.

“Lynch,” He’s surprised by how husky his own voice sounds.

Ronan studies him silently for a moment, something Adam can’t identify passing over his expression before he nods once and reaches for the button on Adam’s jeans. He seems a little worried he’s going to be told to stop, even as he lowers the zipper and Adam lifts his hips to slide his pants down his hips. He’s wearing nearly threadbare blue briefs and there’s a wet spot where he’s leaked precum against them.

Ronan stares at Adam’s bulge like it’s the most holy thing he’s ever seen.

Adam settles back against the couch cushions and reaches for Ronan’s belt.

Frustratingly, Ronan gets up and Adam’s about to protest when he realizes the other boy was merely taking off his jeans and socks. Unlike Adam, Ronan wears black boxers that aren’t falling apart but there’s an obvious tent in the front and an appealing pink tinge to his cheeks and neck.

Adam kicks his own pants the rest of the way off and pulls Ronan back down on top of him for another kiss.

All traces of hesitation are gone from Ronan, who straddles Adam at just the right angle for their erections to brush each other through their underwear. They both hiss at that, and Adam curls his fingers against the waistband of Ronan’s boxers. He wants to push them off, wants to slide his hands under them and feel nothing but Ronan Lynch.

Ronan sits up again, flushed and breathing hard. He palms Adam’s dick through his briefs, squeezing it almost rhythmically as he watches Adam’s face.

Adam feels hot all over, from Ronan’s gaze all over him to Ronan’s hand massaging him. He wants to catalogue the sensations, to analyze how it’s different from when he touches himself.

Ronan starts to peel down his briefs, pausing when he’s about to free Adam’s erection entirely.

“Can I?”

“Fuck, yes.”

It’s all the permission Ronan needs. He peels Adam’s briefs off entirely and shoves his own boxers down. Adam’s too far gone to admire Ronan’s flushed dick for more than a moment before Ronan shifts his hips closer and their naked cocks brush.

Adam groans, pressing his hips up into Ronan’s in search of more friction. He’s a little lost in the pleasure of it all, barely noticing when Ronan licks a wet stripe down his palm and takes them both in his hand.

He’s mesmerized then, watching the heads of their cocks disappear into Ronan’s fist over and over. The friction and the heat is incredible and Adam arches his back to push harder. He knows he must look utterly filthy, laid out on the couch and watching Ronan jerk their cocks with rapt attention.

“Fuck, Adam.” Ronan groans, his rhythm faltering and Adam  _ feels _ his cock pulsing against his own when he comes.

He’s close, and the sight of Ronan’s cum squirting over his fist pushes him over the edge. He jerks his hips into Ronan’s hand, their cum mixing messily on his stomach. The taller boy collapses on top of him, burying his face against Adam’s neck, and while he’s heavy, the weight isn’t unpleasant.

After what feels like an eternity, Adam finds the strength to wrap an arm around Ronan’s back, lightly stroking his fingers down his spine.

“Ronan.”

The reply is muffled, but Adam’s fairly certain it didn’t contain actual words.

“We need to clean up, Ronan.”

“Fuck off, Parrish.”

Adam laughs, unfamiliar lightness bubbling in his chest. “Yeah Lynch, we did, and now we need to clean it up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Full disclosure, this is my least favorite chapter. It just wouldn't come together the way I wanted. I am really pleased with the upcoming two, though!


	5. STEP FIVE: Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion

Adam Parrish has never met a challenge he couldn’t overcome. When he puts his mind to something, he makes connections and finds the best way to accomplish his goal. From school to work, calculus to engine repair, he’s never met a mountain he couldn’t climb.

Ronan Lynch may not be a mountain, but climbing is still on Adam’s mind.

 

**STEP FIVE: Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion**

It’s not the first time Adam has woken up beside Ronan. 

The lines of their friendship had never been as defined as Adam liked to pretend. Even at the start, when the chemistry between them had been centered around volleying for Gansey’s attention, Adam knew there was something different about how Ronan got under his skin.

Those early days turned into nights spent above St Agnes, drives in the early hours of morning when they couldn’t sleep.

This is different.

Adam slides out of sleep with a languor he’s never experienced before. He’s warm and comfortable and settled in a way that’s entirely new. The sun is only starting to rise, bare shafts of light filtering in through the curtains of Ronan’s bedroom and Adam turns his head to look at the boy beside him.

Ronan is sprawled on his back, the duvet resting across his chest. He’s got one arm flung up over his head, the other resting on his stomach, over the covers. His head is turned towards Adam, his lashes dark against his pale cheeks. He looks peaceful in a way Adam has never associated with him.

After they’d left the solace they’d found on the couch, they’d taken turns showering. Adam had borrowed a pair of boxers and a white t-shirt and climbed into Ronan’s bed with him.

Now, in the earliest rays of morning, Adam thinks about how much he wants to keep doing that.

It’s a rarity that he’s awake first, and Adam takes long moments to study Ronan. The curve of his bicep resting by his head is particularly entrancing. The musculature so inarguably  _ male _ in a way that makes Adam’s stomach tighten.

Ronan shifts then, the duvet slipping lower to rest against his hips and Adam shifts a little closer, only a breath away from him. He feels like the moment may overflow with potential, like they’re on the cusp of something he’s been struggling to put words to.

Maybe the time for words is over.

Careful, moving only by inches, Adam slides the covers off of them, depositing the blanket in a heap off the end of the bed. Ronan is all pale skin against white cotton and the stark contrast of his navy boxers drawing Adam’s attention like a beacon.

He rises to his knees, turning sideways so he’s level with Ronan’s groin. Through the fabric he can see the lazy outline of a semi-erect penis and Adam smiles wickedly. Knowing the action will wake Ronan, Adam is still careful with his movements as he hooks his fingers into the sides of Ronan’s underwear and starts slowly pulling them down. 

Ronan shifts, coming awake with a lazy stretch and lifting his hips instinctively to help Adam remove his boxers.

“Good Morning,” Adam abandons the boxers somewhere around Ronan’s knees and reaches over to press the palm of his hand against the length of Ronan’s dick.

“Fuck, Parrish,” Ronan groans, kicking his boxers the rest of the way off and raising his hips into Adam’s hand. “Good morning. Yeah. Some wake up call.”

The weight of Ronan hardening under his palm makes power surge through Adam. He feels more awake than ever before, more present and known and perfectly in control. “Daylight’s wasting,” he murmurs, despite the fact the sun is only half risen and without further delay dips his head to lick an exploratory stripe up the length of Ronan’s cock.

“Fuck.” Ronan’s fingers clutch at the mattress.

Adam tries to categorize the taste, settling only on the fact it’s so distinctly  _ Ronan _ that he should have been able to imagine it. He tastes like dreams and danger and domesticity.

Ronan’s cock, now fully erect, is a little longer than Adam’s and nestled in springy black curls. He circles it with his thumb and forefinger, stroking a slow circle up before leaning down and pressing the flat of his tongue to the slit. There’s a salty tang and Adam files it away as far from unpleasant.

He shifts from his knees to his stomach, pressing a wet kiss to Ronan’s hip before turning to look up at him, head pillowed on his thigh.

“This okay?”

Ronan gapes at him. “Yes, its okay that you’re sucking my dick at sun up.”

“Technically, I was licking it,” Adam points out, smirking. “But since I have your permission…”

He lifts his head and closes his lips over the head of Ronan’s cock, delighting in the strangled sound that comes from the other boy’s lips at the contact.

It takes some adjustments to settle into a rhythm. Giving a blow job is messier than Adam anticipated, his saliva running down the side of Ronan’s dick as he bobs his head. He can’t fit quite as much into his mouth as he’d thought, and there’s a couple of awkward coughs as he re-adjusts but Adam hasn’t gotten as far as he has in life without being a quick study.

Soon he’s got his hand wrapped around the base as he hollows his cheeks and sucks as much of Ronan down as he can.

Ronan’s making little sounds in his throat, groans and gasps that fill Adam with power. With his free hand, he finds Ronan’s on the bed and laces their fingers together.

“Adam,” Ronan’s voice is broken.

Adam increases his pace.

“Christ, fuck, jesus Adam. Wait.” Pushing him away with a groan, Ronan sits up and tugs at Adam’s waist. He manhandles him around until they’re both diagonal on the bed. “I have been thinking about sucking your dick forever,” he confesses, working the borrowed underwear down Adam’s legs.

Then he takes Adam’s erection into his mouth.

It’s hotter and wetter than anything Adam’s dreamt about and he allows a moment to just enjoy the sensation. One of Ronan’s hands is palming his hip, rolling him up onto his side and Adam figures out the intent right away. It takes only a small shift and he’s lowering his lips back to Ronan’s cock.

It’s nothing but sensation then. The heady taste of Ronan on his tongue. The incredible suction of his lips on Adam’s cock. The rising sun casting them both in light, the room filled with the slurps and sucks as they explore each other.

Ronan’s hand works between Adam’s thighs, his fingers lightly caressing his balls and Adam has to pull off at the intensity of his own pleasure.

“Like that?” Ronan’s voice is a low rumble against his hip and he punctuates his question with a gentle tug on Adam’s testicles.

“Fuck, yes.”

Adam feels Ronan’s chuckle with every fiber of his being.

He continues to half-heartedly stroke Ronan’s dick, but the other boy has moved to mouth his sac and Adam feels lost in toe-curling pleasure. He’s being taken apart by Ronan’s lips and tongue and it’s making something competitive surge up in him.

He wants to take Ronan’s concentration, he wants to render him senseless with ecstasy.

Adam takes a steadying breath and tries to compartmentalize the things Ronan is doing to him before taking the other boy’s heavy cock into his mouth once more. He takes as much down his throat as he can, bringing his hand up to cup his balls. They’re not as heavy as Adam’s, but the softness of the skin is so different from the hardness of the rest of Ronan’s body.

While he groans from pleasure, it becomes clear to Adam that Ronan does not share his sensitivity in that area. He needs something else, has to find another way to take Ronan apart.

Acting on instinct, Adam moves his fingers back behind Ronan’s balls, pressing against the soft skin there. 

Ronan pulls back from Adam’s cock with a gasp.

Smug with power, Adam continues to stroke the skin, tongueing at the head of Ronan’s dick in time with it. He thinks it’s probably strange that he finds victory in getting Ronan to neglect his cock, but then he slips his finger back further, finding the puckered skin between Ronan’s cheeks. He presses gently, circling the hole with his index finger and Ronan clutches a hand in his hair, moaning brokenly.

Feeling that his victory is imminent, Adam collects some saliva on his finger and presses the tip just slightly into Ronan.

The other boy shudders, hand tightening in Adam’s hair and then he’s cumming without warning. It’s salty and a little unexpected against Adam’s tongue but he abandons Ronan’s asshole in favor of trying to catch some in his mouth.

Ronan collapses back against the bed, Adam’s erection thoroughly forgotten as he struggles with finding his breath. Adam sits up, pulling off the borrowed t-shirt and using it to wipe up what he hadn’t swallowed. Tossing it to join the blanket on the floor, he rights himself across the mattress to lay next to Ronan, tangling his fingers with his.

The room is silent, save for their breathing and Adam smiles against Ronan’s shoulder as the sun finishes rising.

“Christ…” Ronan has never sounded so thoroughly  _ wrecked _ .

“That’s blasphemous of you,” Adam teases, his chest feeling light. “But no, I’m still Adam.”

Ronan laughs weakly, then grabs him around the shoulders and hauls their lips together for a kiss. It’s all tongue and teeth and desperate gratitude. Ronan holds his face between his palms, looking at Adam from beneath his lashes. “Adam,” He kisses him again, just on the dirty side of chaste. “Fuck. Adam. That was…” He exhales shakily and Adam beams with pride.

Another kiss, then Ronan pulls back, frowning. “You didn’t…” he glances down, where Adam is still hard and pressed against his hip. “Fuck. Sorry.” He starts to roll Adam to his back, intent all over his face.

“Wait. Ronan, wait.”

“What?”

“I want…” Adam struggles for his words, a sudden pang of shyness running through him.

“Jesus, Adam. Anything, Absolutely anything.” Ronan looks so raw, so open and earnest and utterly honest with his promises of the world.

“I want to fuck you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Competitive Blowjobs would be Pynch's sport of choice and I will fight anyone who disagrees.
> 
> Coming next... the conclusion. Step Six: Communicate Your Results.


	6. STEP SIX: Communicate Your Results

Adam Parrish never leaps without looking. He is methodical, forthright, and calculated. He’s never made a decision in his life without weighing the pros and cons.

It’s never too late to start.

  
  


**STEP SIX: Communicate Your Results**

“I want to fuck you.”

Ronan’s eyes widen, and for a moment it’s as though everything stops. The weight of Adam’s request hangs between them, promising many different paths of pleasure and Ronan inhales shakily. Adam’s about to backtrack, to explain himself, when Ronan’s voice breaks the charged silence.

“Fuck, yes.” He reaches out, cupping Adam’s cheek in his hand and there’s such a reverent look on his face that Adam feels warm all over. “I didn’t know if you’d…” He pauses, pressing a firm kiss to Adam’s mouth. “Fuck, I want this so bad.” Another kiss, and then Ronan is turning, reaching for his nightstand and Adam watches curiously as he fusses with the drawer for a moment before returning with a bottle of something.

His confusion must be evident because Ronan smirks, a dirty twist of his mouth as he presses the bottle into Adam’s hand. “Christ Parrish, think we were doing this without lube?”

Adam looks down, turning the bottle over in his hands and surprised to see it’s more than half empty. He’s assaulted with images of Ronan, laying there as he works himself, shameless in pleasure and-

Adam has to reach down and grip himself at the base, groaning as he squeezes to ease the pressure. He wants this to last, wants to make it good for Ronan, wants so many things.

Ronan wants it too. It’s evident on his face as he settles back on his elbows, the long column of his neck on display, his chest heaving as much as Adam’s is. For a moment there’s a charged silence between them; the weight of the lube in Adam’s hand and the pressure of his blood beating down to his cock the only awareness he has other than where Ronan’s eyes are locked with his own.

Ronan shoves him with his foot, spreading his knees and raising an eyebrow. “Well?”

It’s a struggle to remember fine motor control, but Adam manages to uncap the lube and coat his fingers. He has to lean over Ronan to put the bottle on the nightstand, and the other boy takes the opportunity to mouth at his jaw, muttering and full of restless energy.

“Calm down,” Adam murmurs, shifting away to kneel between Ronan’s spread knees. Vaguely, he thinks he should be nervous, but it’s impossible with the eagerness Ronan is making no attempt to keep from his face. He’s got one leg bent and thrown to the side, the muscles of his thighs taut and distracting in ways Adam had never imagined. Ronan’s cock is still soft, recovering from his earlier release, but as Adam runs his lube-free hand up the inside of his leg, it’s impossible to mistake the lack of an instant erection as disinterest.

Besides, for all the porn he watched as research, Adam Parrish paid attention in biology class.

Carefully, he spreads Ronan’s legs further apart and then dips his fingers between the cleft of his ass. With minimal fumbling, he finds Ronan’s hole and circles the puckered tissue with his fingertip. As he presses in to the first knuckle, he looks up to see Ronan’s face. His head is thrown back against the pillow, mouth open in a wordless groan and Adam swallows, helpless with lust.

He’s methodical in his prep, taking his time and easing Ronan open until he’s got three fingers buried in his ass. Ronan writhes against the mattress, pushing himself down onto Adam’s fingers and unable to keep from breathless grunts of pleasure. His cock has perked up, laying enticingly against his stomach but when Adam reaches for it with his unoccupied hand, he’s batted away.

“Fuck, Adam. I’m fucking ready. Just… fuck.” Ronan sounds wrecked, groaning as Adam twists his fingers experimentally. “Fucking stop the torture I want your dick in my ass. Now.”

“I don’t know…” Adam drawls, feeling Ronan’s answering groan from the inside. “Are you sure you’re ready?”

“You’re not that fucking big, asshole,” Ronan snaps testily and Adam leans up to laugh against his mouth.

“It’s your asshole I’m worried about here, shithead.”

Ronan swats at him, but can’t help the whine that escapes as Adam slides his fingers out. He kisses him then, messy and wet and his own self control hovers on a precipice, well aware he hasn’t gotten off yet. Ronan fumbles with the nightstand again, before lightly smacking Adam on the shoulder with a strip of foil packets.

“Learn some patience, Lynch.”

“Put your dick in me, Parrish.”

Adam laughs, settling back on his knees and tearing a condom from it’s wrapper as Ronan rolls to his stomach, arranging himself with his head pillowed on his arms, tattoo on full display, thighs spread.

As he rolls on the condom and adds another squirt of lube, Adam admires the strange dichotomy of relaxed and tense that Ronan presents. His face looks for all the world like he could be taking a nap, but he restlessly presses his hips into the mattress, seeking friction.

With a deep breath, Adam spreads Ronan’s ass cheek, grips himself at the base of his cock, and slowly presses in.

There’s moments of pressure, stark surety that there’s no way this will work, that he couldn’t possibly press as hard as he needs to… then Ronan shifts his left up a fraction and the head of Adam’s cock pushes inside.

They both groan.

The resistance is gone, Ronan’s body giving way for Adam as he exerts all of his carefully curated control to go slowly. Finally,  _ finally, _ he’s buried all the way inside, his balls pressed to Ronan’s ass and when he stills, there’s an alarming lack of thoughts in his mind. All that exists is the tight pressure around his dick and the sound of Ronan breathing.

He leans forward, his chest to Ronan’s back and his face pressed against his neck. Nothing matters except this, no one else except Ronan. Adam feels  _ home _ in a way he’d never imagined. He’d touched himself and touched Ronan and watched other boys touch each other, but nothing had prepared him for how right it feels to be joined like this.

It’s overwhelming.

Ronan turns his head and Adam’s mouth finds his in a whisper of a kiss. Their faces are so close together Adam can feel his breath on his eyelashes. It’s somehow even more intimate than anything else, being this close.

“Adam,” Ronan’s voice is barely a whisper.

“Mm?”

“I could stare at you forever,” he admits, red all over and honest to a fault. “But, fucking  _ fuck me already _ .”

It startles a laugh from Adam, involuntary and bright and he presses a hard kiss to Ronan’s mouth before carefully easing back. His fingers find purchase on the other boy’s hips as they rise together. Ronan groans, settling onto his hands and knees.

Adam slides halfway out, slowly, takes a steadying breath… And thrusts back in. The sound of skin slapping against skin fills the room as he finds a rhythm. Every thrust is hard, and Ronan’s cries of pleasure mingle with the grunts Adam can’t hold back. He doesn’t want to hold back, hopes Ronan enjoys the verbal acknowledgement of his pleasure as much as he feels every one of Ronan’s curses through his entire body.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”

“That’s what I thought I was doing,” Adam doesn’t know how he finds the brainpower for the joke, but it’s enough to make Ronan drop down to one elbow, supporting himself on his torso as he reaches underneath to fist his own cock.

The change of angle is enough to tip Adam over the edge, and his last distant thought as he empties himself into Ronan is hope that his last hard thrust had been enough for Ronan to find his own release.

It feels like hours later when Adam finds the energy to pull out, collapsing onto his back beside Ronan. The condom is sticky and strange on his softening penis but he doesn’t move to get rid of it. He feels fundamentally changed in a way he never expected, as though his entire self has re-aligned itself around Ronan. He knew it would be good, had hoped it would be great, but he never expected transcendent…

“Adam?”

Ronan’s voice is quiet, but when Adam turns to look at him, there’s nothing but wonder on his face.

“Ronan.” He feels languid and knows he’s smiling, but he doesn’t remember choosing to do so.

“That was…” Ronan flushes, and Adam chuckles weakly at the idea that talking is so intimate, after everything.

“Yeah,” he agrees.

Ronan’s quiet for a moment, and Adam closes his eyes. Abstractly, he thinks about the fact they’ve lost their virginity… about how he wants to be the one getting fucked next time, about how he doesn’t know how he’s every going to focus on anything else ever again now that he knows the clench of Ronan’s body around him and the sound of Ronan coming apart from his actions...

“Cmon, asshole, let’s clean up. I’m laying in my own jizz and you’re going to tear out all your pubes if you don’t take that condom off soon.”

Maybe nothing has changed, after all.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finish your final chapter before summer term starts, kids. Learn from my mistakes. I hope it was worth the wait, and thank everyone who stuck around!


End file.
